Three and uneasy

West Brom's £2million striker produced a blistering display, scoring both goals to condemn the Clarets to a third successive defeat and stretch their run without a league win to five matches.

Then he clashed with Dean West, tangled with Kevin Ball and got booked as he was taken off by his manager Gary Megson "because we did not want him sending off".

That was four minutes from time but the damage had already been done in five first half minutes by Roberts, and with the massive defender Darren Moore in commanding form and Russell Hoult stopping the rare shots on target from the home team, a recovery never looked likely.

"They were finding it very difficult to contain Jason and once or twice he would have got away they had to pull him back," said Megson.

That was the only way the two goals would have been prevented as his pace saw him convert through balls from Derek McInnes and Andy Johnson, the first rounding Marlon Beresford, the second shooting past the keeper after a mistake by Ian Cox.

Mind you, had anyone tried to foul him in those positions referee Jeff Winter would have been reaching for his red card.

It had all started quite brightly for the Clarets. Paul Cook, back in the starting line-up, drove a second minute free-kick on target and it bounced off Russell Hoult's legs to safety with Kevin Ball waiting to pounce.

The keeper also used his legs to good affect in the closing minutes when he stopped Tony Grant from opening his account after Burnley's best move of the match.

"That was an important save near the end, a real reaction one," said Megson. "If they had scored then it would have made the last few minutes interesting."

Hoult also tipped over a shot from Ian Moore and a header from Gareth Taylor either side of half-time but that was about all he had to do. That said, it was an improvement on the display at The Hawthorns in September when he did not have a single save to make.

This latest winter blunderland display was further evidence that the Clarets don't like this time of the year and prompted manager Stan Ternent to muse: "This is par for the course this time of year but I have no idea why. Perhaps we could do with a winter break.

"We have had a lot of injuries and not had a settled side but it ebbs and flows. In this division one side can beat another and West Brom are in the middle of a good run now."

That can't be said for Ternent's men of course and with three successive away trips starting with the Wednesday night visit to Watford, the Clarets winter blues need to be cured as soon as possible.

The arrival on the pitch of three second half subs did suggest that a tonic might be around the corner. Glen Little, Paul Weller and £1million signing Robbie Blake all came on having not been deemed fit to figure from the start.

But in the short time that Little and Blake played together there were enough hints to suggest they will be able to play well together and make a positive impact on the side.

Blake showed some nice touches, good awareness and a real appetite for the game. The sooner he is 100 per cent right, the better for Burnley.

It was he who created the great late chance for Grant and he will surely create many more for the rest of the team over the course of his four year contract at Turf Moor.

The fact that opportunities were so few and far between for Burnley was a reflection of the collective might of the three man defence of Larus Sigurdsson, Phil Gilchrist and of course Moore.

Poor Ian Moore and Taylor had no answer to his bulk. In one incident the Wales international bounced off him like a snooker ball off a cushion. In another Ian Moore tried to run round him to latch on to a loose ball but got no further than halfway.

Mind you, it looked as if it would take World and Olympic 400metres champion Michael Johnson 45 seconds to run round him.

At least Beresford looked solid on his debut although he was grateful to Danny Dichio and Adam Chambers for wasting gilt-edged chances in the second half to increase the Baggies' lead.

In fact the on loan keeper did not have another on target shot to save and could not be faulted for either goal. In fact he commanded his area well and made some excellent catches from crosses when under pressure.

He had been given a rapturous reception by the majority of the crowd and he is certain to be an asset during the hectic schedule in the next few weeks. As for Luigi Cennamo, the hapless Greek was not even given a place on the bench by Ternent after his bungling display at Cheltenham.

For the first time in three months the Clarets are starting the week outside of the top six and the drop in confidence both on and off the pitch was particularly evident in the first half.

At times it looked as if they could not pass water as the ball was repeatedly given away by everyone. It did get better after the break but that improvement must be even greater if the push for promotion is to be given the kick-start that is so badly needed.

The boos echoed around Turf Moor at the end of each half and there is no doubt there was little to cheer.

The next home match is a week on Saturday against Nottingham Forest. Clarets fans will be desperately hoping that before then there will have been three reasons to be cheerful on their travels.

BURNLEY...0

WEST BROM...2

Scorers: Roberts 36, 41

Attendance...15,846

At Turf Moor